Trump Fights Gag Order In Sensitive Documents Case, Seeks Sanctions Against Prosecutors

Former President Donald Trump has filed a request with a federal judge to reject prosecutors' plea for a new gag order in the case that accuse him of mishandling sensitive documents.

In a late Memorial Day filing on Monday, Trump's legal team urged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce, FL, to reject the gag order motion, which would limit what he can say about law enforcement officers involved in the case.

According to Reuters, the request also seeks to impose sanctions and pursue civil contempt findings against "all government attorneys who participated in the decision to file the motion."

The case is one of four criminal prosecutions facing Trump, wherein prosecutors have leveled 40 counts of illegally retaining sensitive national security documents after Trump's departure from office. Trump has maintained his right to retain these documents and has contested the charges against him.

The prosecutors moved the petition on Friday, urging the judge to reassess Trump's bail conditions and issue an order to restrain him from making statements that could endanger law enforcement officials.

Special Counsel Jack Smith argued that such a measure was necessary due to a series of "intentionally false and inflammatory statements" made by Trump regarding the FBI's search of his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida in August 2022.

Trump, who is contesting against Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election, has falsely claimed in fundraising messages from his campaign that the FBI was authorized to carry out an assassination attempt.

Special Counsel Jack Smith said that Trump's misrepresentations posed a threat to law enforcement officers, and claimed that restricting such comments would not impede legitimate speech.

In response, Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise, accused prosecutors of "bad-faith behavior," alleging that they rushed to file the request on a Friday night before a holiday weekend without adequate consultation with the defense team, violating local court rules.

The defense team argued that this violation warranted sanctions against prosecutors, potentially including covering expenses incurred as a result.

Trump's lawyers argued that the gag order itself would unfairly curtail Trump's free speech rights during the election campaign.

The timing of a ruling from Judge Cannon on the motions from each side remains uncertain.

Meanwhile, Trump's criminal trial in New York, related to allegations of falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, is set to resume with closing arguments on Tuesday.

Trump also faces charges in Washington and Georgia related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.